Three on a Theme: World Braille Day

Happy World Braille Day! Celebrated every year on Louis Braille’s birthday, the inventor of Braille, World Braille Day promotes the accessibility and independence for people who are blind or visually impaired. 

Diversity reaches beyond skin color and religious beliefs and I’m always interested in promoting books that share the experience of characters with disabilities or impairments to educate readers! 

The Black Book of Colors is so interesting with raised outlines for illustrations and text, plus Braille for all readers to enjoy! This is a must-read! Six Dots: A Story of Young Louis Braille is a picture book biography of Louis Braille telling the story of how he invented the Braille as a way to read. And finally, Not If I See You First is a YA realistic fiction title with a protagonist who is blind. Although Eric is not an #ownvoices author, I really enjoyed this title and it’s received a decent review on Disability in KidLit.

Booklist

The Black Book of Colors by Menena Cottin

“It is very hard for a sighted person to imagine what it is like to be blind. This groundbreaking, award-winning book endeavors to convey the experience of a person who can only see through his or her sense of touch, taste, smell or hearing.

Raised black line drawings on black paper, which can be deciphered by touch, complement a beautifully written text describing colors through imagery. Braille letters accompany the text so that the sighted reader can begin to imagine what it is like to use Braille to read. A full Braille alphabet at the end of the book can be used to learn more. ” (Taken from Goodreads)

Six Dots: A Story of Young Louis Braille by Jen Bryant

“An inspiring picture-book biography of Louis Braille—a blind boy so determined to read that he invented his own alphabet.
 
Louis Braille was just five years old when he lost his sight. He was a clever boy, determined to live like everyone else, and what he wanted more than anything was to be able to read. 
 
Even at the school for the blind in Paris, there were no books for him.
 
And so he invented his own alphabet—a whole new system for writing that could be read by touch. A system so ingenious that it is still used by the blind community today.
 
Award-winning writer Jen Bryant tells Braille’s inspiring story with a lively and accessible text, filled with the sounds, the smells, and the touch of Louis’s world. Boris Kulikov’s inspired paintings help readers to understand what Louis lost, and what he was determined to gain back through books.
 
An author’s note and additional resources at the end of the book complement the simple story and offer more information for parents and teachers.” (Taken from Goodreads)

Not If I See You First by Eric Lindstrom

“The Rules 

• Don’t deceive me. Ever. Especially using my blindness. Especially in public. 
• Don’t help me unless I ask. Otherwise you’re just getting in my way or bothering me. 
• Don’t be weird. Seriously, other than having my eyes closed all the time, I’m just like you only smarter.

Parker Grant doesn’t need 20/20 vision to see right through you. That’s why she created the Rules: Don’t treat her any differently just because she’s blind, and never take advantage. There will be no second chances. Just ask Scott Kilpatrick, the boy who broke her heart. 

When Scott suddenly reappears in her life after being gone for years, Parker knows there’s only one way to react – shun him so hard it hurts. She has enough on her mind already, like trying out for the track team (that’s right, her eyes don’t work but her legs still do), doling out tough-love advice to her painfully naive classmates, and giving herself gold stars for every day she hasn’t cried since her dad’s death three months ago. But avoiding her past quickly proves impossible, and the more Parker learns about what really happened – both with Scott, and her dad – the more she starts to question if things are always as they seem. Maybe, just maybe, some Rules are meant to be broken. 

Combining a fiercely engaging voice with true heart, debut author Eric Lindstrom’s Not If I See You First illuminates those blind spots that we all have in life, whether visually impaired or not.” (Taken from Goodreads)